August 2012

Tomorrow is officially September, which means one thing: Back to school. Whether you’re going back to your old school or starting at a new school, you’re going to need a killer playlist, so we thought, “Why not appeal to both?”

The playlist above comes in pairs of two: an old school hip-hop classic, followed by a new school hip-hop artist who continued their tradition. Talk about backpack rap!

Through the years, Norwegian singer-songwriter Sondre Lerche has gleefully swapped genres: folk-pop, lounge, rock, and jazz. On his new live album, Bootlegs, Lerche takes a breather and looks back on all the territory he’s covered, playing songs like “Two Way Monologue,” “Phantom Punch,” and “Modern Nature.”

The live album drops next week, but Bootlegs is on Rdio right now, a week before its official release. Turn the house lights down and the stage lights up, then press play:

There’s a distinct hip-hop flavor to this week’s new releases — Philly rap vet Beanie Sigel and Detroit supergroup Slaughterhouse both have new albums for you to hear. Of course, there’s more: Fleet Foxes offshoot Poor Moon and party-starting DJ Dan Deacon both have new ones, too, and the Jackson 5 have released a compilation of rarities for the completist in you.

For more, listen to the weekly New Music Tuesday playlist and the rest of this week’s new albums in the Rdio New Releases. Consult our playlist notes below for highlights.

Playlist Notes

Wild Nothing - NocturneThe fey indie-poppers bring more muscle to their melodies on their second album, but that doesn’t mean they’ve sacrificed their ‘80s atmosphere and mystique.

Divine Fits - A Thing Called Divine FitsThe frontmen of Spoon and Wolf Parade are now Divine Fits, and it’s the best of both worlds. This is an indie supergroup not to miss.

Matthew Dear - BeamsThe electronic mastermind returns with Beams, his fourth full-length, a more laid back and sunny effort compared to his usual cerebral oeuvre.

Burning Man isn’t your typical music festival. The week-long, one-of-a-kind event is held annually in Black Rock Desert in Nevada, where community, self-expression, and self-reliance come first. Every year has a theme — 2012’s edition, which runs August 27-September 3, is “Fertility 2.0” — and participants are asked to contribute in any constructive way they see fit: with art installations, costumes, musical performances, gifts, or otherwise.

The festival began in 1986 at Baker Beach with 20 friends but it's grown to welcome over 60,000 participants from all over the globe. Whether you're coming from across state lines or across the ocean, you'll need a soundtrack to get you into the Burning Man state of mind like Brian Winters' playlist. Or make your own; as long as you’re ready for to head to Burning Man.

The EP will drop a week from now, but you can hear all six Rocks Off Remixes exclusively on Rdio, starting today.

We’ve got another exclusive, too: Daniel Bedingfield himself has designed a necktie, and we’re giving it away to a lucky Rdio listener who enters their name, email, and link to your favorite Daniel Bedingfield song on Rdio. Read the Official Rules for more details. Fill in your deets below, and good luck!

If you’ve ever had your mind blown by a Soundway Records release, you know just how founder Miles Cleret felt ten years ago in Ghana, when he heard a local DJ spinning African funk, soul and blues. He was inspired to start Soundway, and since then, the label has released albums and compilations featuring genres from all over the world: afro-beat, funk, highlife, ethio-jazz, molam, calypso, cumbia, champeta, biguine, and latin-jazz.

The label has traditionally been known as the go-to for reissues of out-of-print albums that, in some cases, were never released outside of their native countries, and has focused on modern DJ culture and dance-music. 2012 finds Soundway in a new frame of mind, shifting from exclusively reissuing albums of the past to pushing music into the future. New albums like Ondatropica, on which modern DJ Quantic and veteran Colombian musician Mario Galeano collaborated, demonstrate the kind of forward-thinking releases that the label is pursuing this year.

Not your cup o’ joe? Listen to the weekly New Music Tuesday playlist and the rest of this week’s new albums in the Rdio New Releases, and consult our playlist notes below for more of the week’s new tunes.

Playlist Notes

Trey Songz - Chapter VThe R&B songwriter’s fifth album features T.I., Lil Wayne, Young Jeezy, Rick Ross, and Meek Mill. Songz is a little older and wiser than he was on his last album — hear him wax soulful now.

Owl City - The Midsummer StationThe fourth album by the synth-pop wunderkind expands his palette to include rock and trance sounds, among others.

The Darkness - Hot CakesThe fun-loving UK hair-metal outfit that believed in a thing called love try their hand at rock anthems and power-pop on their new album.

Bloc Party - FourThe fourth album by the UK post-punk quartet finds them using synths and guitars in straightforward rock songs that go for emotion over the experimentation of their previous full-length.

David Guetta - “She Wolf (Falling to Pieces)”The house music impresario’s new single features the yearning vocals of Australian singer Sia, and builds to an explosive chorus.

It started as a simple fanzine, but Touch & Go gradually became one of America’s most reputable indie labels. Formed in 1979 to document the rise of hardcore music, Touch & Go became a record label in 1981, when it began releasing records by bands such as The Meatmen. By the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, the label was a major part of the DIY alternative scene, releasing game-changing records by Slint, The Jesus Lizard, and Polvo.

By 2000, the label welcomed bands from all genres, including the jittery dance music of !!!, the psychedelic dream rock of Blonde Redhead, and the forward-thinking music of folk outfit Cocorosie and soul-infused indie rock troupe TV on the Radio. The label was also instrumental in the launching of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

For more as the label develops in the next decade, Follow Touch & Go on Rdio. If you ask us, they’re still pretty hardcore — play the Touch & Go Rdio station, and you’ll hear what we mean.

Revered producer and songwriter DJ Shadow’s newest project is something special. The MPC Era archival project is Shadow’s collection of beats and songs from the years surrounding 1996’s classic Endtroducing..., when he was using only an AKAI MPC-60 sampling drum machine, two turntables, and Pro Tools to make his music. MPC Era is available from DjShadow.com but it's on Rdio now, featuring the Rdio-only bonus tune, “Bigger Beats.” You won’t find it anywhere else but below:

Heard the track? Now get the t-shirt: we have three awesome DJ Shadow shirts courtesy of the DJ Shadow Store that you can win just by filling out the entry form below. Read the Official Rules for more details. Also follow DJ Shadow on Rdio to keep up with his Heavy Rotation.

UPDATE: Thanks for entering! Winners will be notified via email on August 21, 2012.

Rdio is a social jukebox with over 30 million songs to discover, play, and share. Play what you want, when you want, or turn on a station for a perfect mix of songs. Listen anywhere — the web, your phone, even offline — and follow friends and artists to see what they’re playing.